


This chasm growing between us

by Pawmeister



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Based on jawlipops drawings on twitter, Extremely light angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mass Effect - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pawmeister/pseuds/Pawmeister
Summary: Having spent five years in the cold embrace of death, Byleth once more finds herself in the world of the living. Much has changed in the five years since her death. She struggles to adapt to a galaxy that has moved on without her while being surrounded by familiar faces, but what hurts most of all is the growing divide between her and the woman she loves.(Mass Effect AU based on @jawlipops art on twitter - Mass Effect 2 centric)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 98





	This chasm growing between us

“Is this really all necessary?” Byleth asked as she lifted and stretched her arms high above her head, stretching to the point where her back cracked with a satisfying pop. Linhardt circled behind her taking detailed notes on his omnipad. She barely even knew what he could still be taking notes on at this point with how much was written there. 

“Commander, think of this as a favor to me and you. The years I spent gathering and applying my research into the technology that went into reconstructing your body, to see it all at work now is invaluable data!” He paused to enter some final notes into his pad, “Oh, and I also have to make sure your body isn’t rejecting the implants of course, now that would cause some real problems.” 

Byleth stayed silent at that. She was well aware of how many implants covered her body just from the scars that littered her skin now and the light yellow glow showing where every synthetic link lay just below her skin. Even she wasn’t fully aware of how much of her body had to be supported and restored by her implants. Just from what was visible already had her wondering what else was put into her body. 

Before she could ponder any further Linhardt placed his pad onto the table, the green skinned Salarian turning to her fully now. “Thank you Commander, this data will keep me quite busy for the night.” 

“You’re not sleeping tonight?” 

“Oh, no! Of course not! Not when I have so much Agarthan data to cross analyze now with your own. That would simply be a waste of time!” He turned away now back to his desk, fingers eagerly tapping away at his terminal. He absent mindedly waved a hand back at her, “Oh, right, you can leave now. Have a good night.” 

Byleth couldn’t help the small grin that grew on her lips, Linhart was still as focused on his research as ever, “Thanks, Linhardt.” 

“Yes, yes, no problem.” He replied back before the low hiss of the Sirius SR-2’s door closed behind her as she left. 

It had been almost three weeks now since her return. She was still reeling with the fact that she was dead for five whole years. She couldn’t deny that everyone she’d seen so far certainly looked like they had aged since she last saw them, but for her it still felt like she had been on that mission that got her killed only weeks ago. 

She looked down at the Cerberus logo on her shirt, everything was different now, but still so much the same. 

She would’ve never thought she’d be working with Cerberus, but El was here, and so many of her other friends. The Regent himself had said that Cerberus and their cells were the only ones combating and working against the looming threat of the Agarthans where the Council and the Alliance rejected their existence entirely. She could still remember Councilor Rhea’s vehement refusal of her and Edelgard’s pleas five years ago. 

_ “Those vile monsters were destroyed by my own hands thousands of years ago! All of the Agarthans were hunted to extinction! The Nabateans made sure of that! I will not humor anymore foolish tales from one of my own spectres, Eisner…” _

Was she even a spectre anymore if she had been dead? 

Byleth pushed those confusing thoughts out of her head and focused on other aspects of her return. 

The Sirius SR-2 looked so much like the old SSV Sirius that she almost had trouble believing the first ship had really been completely destroyed. But at least it was far more roomier than the last model of the ship. 

Byleth made her way into the kitchen and dining hall, peeking her head around the corner from the sounds of voices. 

“No fair! I always get the worst cards! You have to be cheating when you’re shuffling this deck Dorothea!” Caspar shouted, tossing his losing hand onto the table. The light blue scaled krogan quickly losing his patience with the game they were playing. 

“Now, now, Caspar. You can win even with a bad hand if you weren’t so obvious all the time with your expressions.” The asari chided. As if to prove Dorothea’s point the young krogan only pouted and grumbled more in his seat. 

“Dorothea is right, Caspar. If you had more discipline like one such as myself then your performance would improve exponentially!” The turian with a prominent red and yellow pattern painted on his face puffed out his chest with pride. 

“You’ve been losing just as much as me, Ferdinand!” Caspar replied angrily at the turian. 

“Nonsense! It is all apart of my strategy, as an Aegir I—“ 

“Ferdie, I swear, if you tell me one more time about how your dusty old ancestors got to wear the extra special paint on their face, I might just toss you out of the airlock when Edie isn’t looking.” Dorothea quickly cut off Ferdinand's incoming speech. 

“Dorothea!” Ferdinand’s mandibles flared out in shock. 

Before their mock argument could progress any further, Caspar spotted Byleth first. “Hey Byleth! Want to join our game? Maybe you can finally beat Dorothea.” 

Dorothea rose her head towards Byleth’s direction, a smile easily replacing the look of annoyance on her face from speaking to Ferdinand. “Oh, Byleth! I didn’t think you’d still be up! I’ll shuffle you in.” 

A small laugh came from Byleth at their antics, “Okay, but I’m only in for a round.” 

“At least someone else has some responsibility on this ship, the Commander is right as always, we should be heading to bed at this hour!” Ferdinand said, easily picking back up his usual pep. 

“A convenient excuse to get out of your losing streak.” Dorothea easily retorted with a small smirk as she shuffled the deck and dealed everyone’s cards. 

Ferdinand huffed at the remark, for once not responding to it as he looked at the cards he was dealt. 

“You all are rather energetic at this hour.” Byleth said as she grabbed her cards. 

“Ferdie was gifted this new drink he wanted us all to try and now we have to burn off all the extra energy Caspar has from it.” Dorothea replied, her face giving away nothing as she looked at her cards. 

“Hey! You can’t just blame me!” Caspar flipped over his cards to look at them, a toothy grin spreading on his lips. 

“Gifted? Was it sent from home?” Byleth asked, turning to Ferdinand. 

The turian’s mandibles shook slightly, flaring out and closing back up in a matter of seconds. “Ahh… right, I haven’t gotten around to telling you yet Commander with everything else that’s been going on.” 

Byleth’s brows furrowed in confusion, Dorothea was quick to alleviate some of the awkwardness from the situation, “It’s been a few years since it happened Byleth, so don’t feel too bad for not knowing already.” 

Ferdinand nodded, “That’s right, my father was not very happy with me on my return back to Pallaven. I tried to tell him all that we learned about the Agarthans but…” 

“That old Primarch didn’t believe him, said he was getting too cozy with the client races and he should stay on Pallaven.” Caspar added in, tossing a card he didn't need into the center of the table and grabbing another one. 

“My father didn’t see what we saw!” Ferdinand slammed a fist onto the table, quickly calming down a bit from the act, “I refused of course, there was no way I was going to abandon our mission when it's only just begun. If my father can’t see what’s best for Pallaven then I will simply have to ensure I do it in his stead once I become Primarch.” 

Dorothea nodded in agreement, “Things have been a bit messy since then, but Edie brought us all back together while she was working to find you.” A small smile spread on Dorothea’s face as she looked over at Byleth before she exchanged a card from her hand. 

Unsure of what to say, Byleth could only nod her head as the four went back to their card game. It wasn’t long before she placed her hand down on the table, Caspar immediately tossing his cards. “Dammit!” 

Dorothea laughed as she placed her losing hand down, “I see you’ve still got quite the killer poker face Byleth.” 

Ferdinand shook his head, placing down his losing hand. “As expected from the Commander.” 

Caspar shot up out of his chair, “Alright I’m done with these card games, I’m going down to the loading bay to hit something.” 

“Hmm, that does sound like a good idea to blow off the rest of this energy I have... I’ll join you!” Ferdinand said as he stood up and followed Caspar. 

Dorothea shook her head as she watched the two leave, “Those two… way more similar than they realize.” 

Dorothea looked back to Byleth who was still silent as she wordlessly stacked her cards into a small pile. 

Dorothea lightly tapped a finger on the table to draw Byleth’s attention to her, “A credit for your thoughts?” 

Byleth looked away once more, taking the small stack of cards in her hand and mindlessly playing with the corner of the cards. 

“I… was thinking about what Ferdinand said.” 

Dorothea tilted her head to the side slightly, encouraging Byleth to continue, “About him not having the chance to talk to me yet about what happened with his father.” 

“Oh Byleth, you know Ferdie, he didn’t mean anything by it.” 

Byleth shook her head, “No, that’s not what I mean. I’m still…” she sighed as she tried to articulate her thoughts, there were so many things she didn’t know now about everyone who had been her closest companions five years ago. “I guess I feel like I’ve fallen behind everyone.” 

Dorothea’s hands loosely curled around each other on the table. “No one is blaming you for it, it’s to be expected with everything that’s happened.” 

“I know, it’s just… it’s a lot to try to get used to all at once. You all are still my closest friends, but I feel like everyone has changed and I missed it.” 

Dorothea exhaled softly, “We have all changed, but a part of us all have stayed the same too. We all still respect you as our commander, we’re all still your friend and we’re all here to support you and Edie until the end. We wouldn’t have come back if we didn’t believe in her and in you.” 

“In me? But I didn’t—“ 

“Yes, in you too.” Dorothea quickly cut her off, “You didn’t see Edie when we got the news that… that you died. She was devastated. I’ve never seen her look so lost before, she tried to get the Council and the Alliance to listen about what happened to you. That the Agarthans had come after you and killed you for being on their trail, but they didn’t listen. Then she vanished searching for you before joining Cerberus and changing like she did to lead her own cell to bring you back. She’d had connections with Cerberus before everything happened, but she completely threw in with them once you died.” 

Byleth stayed silent, looking down at her own hands against the table as Dorothea spoke. 

A comforting hand came to rest on her shoulder, “The two of you bring out the best in each other, and she was determined to bring you back. It certainly seemed far-fetched, I won’t lie, but the work her and Lin put into that project, and the technology Bernie scavenged for them… well, it was enough to inspire confidence even in a pessimistic girl like me.” 

The small smile returned to Byleth’s lips at that, “I’m glad, I know it’ll be difficult to fall back into the rhythm with everyone again after so long, but I just wish it was a bit easier with Edelgard.” 

Dorothea shook her head and drew her hand back, “That girl, honestly… I don’t know what she’s thinking with how she’s been acting.” 

Byleth could only nod in agreement. 

“Were you going to turn in for the night?” Dorothea suddenly asks, with little time to think from the sudden change in topic Byleth can only nod again in response. 

“I have an idea then,” Dorothea rises to her feet and pulls Byleth up with her, “I think it’s time you’ve confronted this one head on.” 

“Head on?” 

“Talking to Edie.” 

Byleth’s eyes widened slightly, “I… are you sure? She might be asleep already, and—“ 

“I didn’t ask for you to think up excuses,  _ Commander _ . You’ve faced down scarier things.” Dorothea said with a smirk and a new spark to her eyes.

Byleth could feel a tension settling in her muscles, she had been able to get along well again with everyone except Edelgard. It was like there was a new wall placed between them where none had been before, it made Byleth second guess everything before she acted. But maybe Dorothea was right, she had faced plenty of terrors before this, alone and with Edelgard by her side. 

It only took a few moments of thinking, but then she gave Dorothea a firm nod. “Okay, I’ll do it.” 

Dorothea’s smirk grew into a full blown smile. “There’s your old confidence! You got this Byleth.” 

With a final pat on her shoulder for encouragement Dorothea sent Byleth off in the direction of Edelgard’s office and room on the ship. The pep talk had helped in relieving the tension in her muscles with each step she took. 

Dorothea was right, right? Everyone changed, but a part of them stayed the same too, and she’d known El for so long already. Everything couldn’t have changed so drastically in five years, could it? 

Perhaps that line of thinking was dangerous, she quickly dispelled those thoughts as she approached the door panel. The light for the door was still a light blue, if she hadn’t locked her door yet then she must still be up. With a press of a button the door opened with a quiet hiss. 

The light in the room was set to low, just bright enough to not stumble over anything on your way through, but it also meant she could just barely make out Edelgard at the other end of the room looking out on a panel that displayed the exterior view of the ship. Byleth stepped forward into the room. 

Without even having to look at who had come in Edelgard seemed to already know who it was once she spoke.

“Please leave, Eisner.” Edelgard didn’t move from where she stood looking out into the deep dark expanse of space, not even turning her head to look at Byleth after she spoke.

Byleth didn’t let it deter her just yet, keeping up a small smile as she walked up to Edelgard’s desk and leaning her hands against it, “I see you’re still having trouble sleeping?” 

Nothing, not a shift or a response from Edelgard. She was turned too far away to see her expression, but her body language showed enough where Byleth knew she wasn’t going to answer her. 

Her smile faltered, a moment of silence passed between the two with neither very eager to fill the void between them. If she left she knew she’d just have wasted the time Dorothea spent talking her up to even seek out Edelgard.

Finally Byleth sighed and spoke, “You’ve been ignoring me for weeks already. You only ever speak to me when it’s related to a mission briefing, or an update from The Regent. If I’ve done something wrong…” Byleth’s words falter. No, she can’t blame Edelgard, she’s the one that was left alone all this time, she’s fought so hard and done so much to bring her back. She shouldn’t need a reason for the way she’s acting. Of course Edelgard would be upset with her after she left her alone all these years. 

Her hands resting on the desk curled into fists, “I’m… I’m trying to catch up with everyone, understand everything that’s changed since I’ve been gone. If I’m doing something wrong, please tell me. I don’t want to make you more upset than I already have, if you’ve moved on, please just tell me…” her voice lowering to a near whisper, “I need to know where we stand… El.” 

That simple name crumbles Edelgard’s resolve, her posture falls, hands shaking ever so slightly. 

She turns her head ever so slightly towards Byleth, and it’s then that she sees the red in her eyes, the fresh tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. 

Byleth doesn’t even think about her next movements, her body acting on its own from pure instinct. She rushes around the table towards Edelgard. Despite her previous disposition, Edelgard eagerly welcomes the comforting embrace of Byleth’s open arms and the tears welling in her eyes finally spring free. 

There was a deep familiarity in the way Edelgard pressed her face into the crook of Byleth’s neck, the way her hands pressed against Byleth’s chest in a feeble attempt to hide her own face. Byleth’s uncertainty on where they stood only kept her from fully wrapping Edelgard in her arms for a moment before she pulled her into a fierce hug. 

They stood like that for a breath's length. Byleth could feel the trembling of Edelgard’s body under her hands, the force of barely restrained tears finally breaking free, a well of emotion spilling forth from her next words. 

Her hands clutched tightly onto Byleth’s shirt, “Do you have any idea how  _ guilty _ I felt? How  _ broken _ my heart was?!” 

Byleth could feel Edelgard’s tears wet her shirt, “I never should have left your side all those years ago, I never should have—!” A hiccup takes her words from her and she buries her face deeper into Byleth’s neck. 

“I couldn’t let you go, I searched for you all those years! I knew you were dead, but I couldn’t accept it. I did terrible things… to you and to others that I never would have done if I wasn’t so selfish in trying to get you back…!” 

Edelgard pulled her head away from the crook of Byleth’s neck to look up at her. She brought up a gloved hand to caress her cheek, fingers trailing over the scars that revealed yellow glowing cybernetics underneath Byleth’s skin. Byleth let her speak, let her say everything she had been keeping locked inside her heart all these years, her face reflecting the pain she felt in her heart.

Soon Edelgard’s own face matched that pained expression, the two locking eyes before she finally spoke again. 

“I finally have you back, but I feel as if you’re farther away than during the long years I searched for you. All I wanted was to have you back, yet I feel as if I don’t deserve to have you anymore with everything I’ve done to bring you back. All because of my selfish—!” 

“ _ El. _ ” Byleth finally cut her off with a firm voice. Edelgard’s words died on her tongue, her gaze lowering slightly. 

“El… look at me please.” Byleth leaned her head forward, gently pressing her forehead against Edelgard’s own. The woman slowly looked back up at her eyes, meeting her gaze. 

“You gave me a second chance at life…” 

Fresh tears welled up in the corners of Edelgard’s eyes at those words, “Do you want to know the last things I was thinking of five years ago? I was thinking about how I’d never get to see you again. That I broke my promise to always stay by your side, but when I woke up, the first thing I saw was  _ you _ , El.” 

Byleth closed her eyes as she kept her forehead pressed against Edelgard’s. “You’ve fought so hard this whole time on your own and with everyone else. For me and everyone else.” She opened her eyes once more, clear blue gazing down at shimmering lavender, “I’m still trying to understand everything I’ve missed, but I still feel the same about you, El. That never changed. I still love you, and I swear I won’t leave you again.” 

Edelgard almost pulls away from their embrace at those words, her mouth falling into a frown and her brows furrowing, “You can’t promise that—!  _ Don’t  _ promise me that…!”

Edelgard turns away slightly and closes her eyes, her hand comes up to massage the space between her brows before she looks back up at Byleth. Her voice falls quiet, “ _ Please don’t promise me that…  _ I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost you again Byleth…” 

Byleth’s face falls in understanding, her hand pressed against Edelgard’s back comes up to comb away the stray silver hair that had fallen into Edelgard’s face.  “Can you give me a chance then? To try to make it up to you?” 

Edelgard carefully moved out of their embrace, pulling Byleth back by the hand towards her bed. Her actions were answer enough to Byleth’s plea. The two collapsed onto the bed, falling back into what would’ve been a comfortable routine five years ago with Edelgard’s head against Byleth’s chest. The soft rhythm of her beating heart pressed against her ear. Byleth wrapped her arms around her, holding her close against her body and burying her nose into her silver hair. 

The two lay comfortably together like this, the silence slowly mending the cracks and wounds left in their heart from their time apart.

That silence only broke once Byleth opened her mouth to speak, “So, we’re going to bed with our boots on?” 

“Stop talking, Eisner.” Edelgard’s muffled reply came from Byleth’s chest.

A soft chuckle shook Byleth’s chest, and despite her words, Edelgard smiled as she rested her head against the woman she loved, content to stay in her arms for tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Mass Effect and I love Three Houses, so the idea immediately burrowed into my brain once I saw @jawlipops's amazing drawings for this cross over. 
> 
> https://twitter.com/jawlipops/status/1289287984462753794?s=20
> 
> https://twitter.com/jawlipops/status/1288680254928588800?s=20
> 
> I chose to make Ferdinand a turian since I felt like he's really the type who would gloat about how his family has a long line of Primarch's on Pallaven dating back to the Unification Wars lol. Also, if The Regent was a bit too vague of a title, he's the stand in for The Illusive Man here, and I imagine him as being Lord Arundel. 
> 
> I really like the whole idea around a crossover between these two series, Edelgard fits perfectly into a character who would work alongside an organization like Cerberus for an ultimate greater good. I've thought out some merged world lore and general plot for this just for this one shot, so I may end up fucking around and writing some more, who knows. Can find me on Twitter @Pawmeister


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